


Cherry Cola

by Dancains



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: (One of my favorite fanfic cliches), M/M, One Shot, Set in early Season 3, This fic doesn't actually involve soda, heat wave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 15:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12820299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dancains/pseuds/Dancains
Summary: You can be my sugar, be my cherry cola





	Cherry Cola

"Sweltering" would have been how Ed might have described the day--if pressed to choose the most accurate piece of vocabulary. Though "scorching" or "broiling" might have been just as apt. He mulled over it feverishly as he all but ripped off the short-sleeved dress shirt and tie he had opted for that morning. It had certainly struck Ed that he more closely resembled someone who went door to door distributing religious pamphlets than a mayor's chief of staff, but desperate heat called for desperate measures. 

 This was doubly so, considering Oswald's sudden, uncharacteristic generosity around noon, declaring that everyone at city hall take the rest of the day off. No work was getting done in this heatwave, he had argued; the single condition of this favor being that they would all reconvene earlier than usual that next morning, when Gotham news had predicted the weather would be something closer to what was usually expected during the season. 

 It had been mostly quiet on the way home, both him and Oswald breathing heavily in the town car's weak air-conditioning, backs sticking uncomfortably to the leather seats. 

 They passed a scene that Ed thought was almost like something out a film--a fire hydrant that someone had probably burst open, with a gaggle of raggedly dressed children of the narrows playing in it's cool spray. The water had glinted in the bright afternoon sun, cutting the slivers of light into a rainbow, like a glass prism. Ed almost wished he was out there with them, before he mentally chided himself for such a juvenile whim. 

 He had suggested to Oswald that it might be cooler when they returned to the mansion, far out of the city's high, reflective buildings trapping heat among themselves, but when they stepped out of the car it seemed almost hotter. 

 The Van Dahl Mansion, in its old age, had proven to fare even worse in the heat than in the winter, when it was a serious task to keep the place from nearly freezing. The day the heatwave had started, Oswald had ordered that a half-dozen portable electric fans be brought in, which seemed to migrate around the mansion depending on which rooms were currently being occupied. As soon as Ed had gotten home, he had set one up in the large bathroom attached to his bedroom. He opened the door to the glass-enclosed shower and let cold water run, hoping the fan would circulate some of the cool moisture filled air throughout the room. To his delight, he could feel the temperature slowly dropping around him. 

 He stepped back into his bedroom, glad to strip down to his undershirt and set his glasses aside. Beads of sweat had been forming on his brow that he tried to wipe from his face, along with the stray strands of his hair that were curling against his forehead. He was surprised, a moment later, when Oswald pushed open his half-closed door.

 "Oh! I'm sorry, I could come back in a moment if you--"

 Ed had been pulling his belt from the loops of his trousers. He dropped it on the bed in front of him. "No, that's fine, Oswald. What were you going to say?"

 Oswald fumbled with his words for a moment before launching into some matter of underworld business, something that didn't necessarily need Ed's input, but they type of thing Ed was glad to help with anyway--on any other day, at least. 

 For the life of him Ed couldn't focus on the words, simply staring blankly as Oswald's lips moved. He wondered if he was undergoing heatstroke, and simultaneously cycled through a list of symptoms in his head as he studiously watched a single bead of sweat drip down Oswald's temple and down the line of his neck. It disappeared below his collar, two buttons of the dress shirt notably open. 

 Ed so rarely saw him in his shirtsleeves, and almost never rolled up like they were now. Sans waistcoat and tie, he looked almost criminally casual, the usual layers of armor that signified both his role as mayor and kingpin, stripped away. His choppy, angled bangs were plastered to his forehead in a way that was strangely endearing--in a disheveled sort of way, Ed mused.

 "Ed? Are you listening to a word I'm saying?" Oswald half-scoffed, half-laughed.

 "I'm sorry. It's...uhm, very warm," Ed said brilliantly.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." 

 If Oswald had been talking to anyone else, the sarcasm might have been cruel and mocking, but with Ed his tone was light and amused.

 "Why don't we talk in here?" Ed gestured towards the bathroom.

 "Hm?" Oswald quirked an eyebrow in confusion but followed him into the adjacent room without protest. 

 "I thought I heard water running," Oswald chided when he saw the shower, "You know this is rather wasteful to leave on."

 "I truly doubt you'll have any trouble paying the water bill. Besides, isn't it a bit cooler in here?"

 Oswald nodded with playful reluctance. "Very clever, Ed. As usual."

 Ed smiled shyly despite himself, eagerly soaking up the slightest morsel of praise. 

 They talked for a moment, Ed giving his opinion on Oswald's plans to deal with a particular gang that was being uncooperative with his new regime. Even when they had wrapped up the matter, Oswald seemed to linger, reluctant to leave the space. Despite the cool air from the shower, it was still warmer than a usual day. Ed watched him rub at the sweat along his jawline, before pushing his damp hair back away from his face, leaving it in an almost comic disarray. 

 "What are you smiling at?" Oswald asked him suspiciously.

 "Nothing, nothing, I--" a sudden whimsy struck Ed. "Do you want to get even cooler?"

 Oswald furrowed his brow, as if it was a trick question. "I'm sure there's not a single soul in Gotham city that doesn't want to cool off on a day like this."

 Without warning, Ed yanked the front of Oswald's shirt, dragging them both just a few steps back until they were under the shower's icy spray. Oswald stumbled against him, pressing Ed's back to the cool tiles at the back of the shower. The water streamed over him as he gaped, open-mouthed like a fish, seemingly too shocked to say anything for a few solid seconds. Ed couldn't hold back the warm laughter that came from deep in his chest at the sight.

 "Ed! What the hell was that for?" He sounded more surprised than angry, fingers still clutching tightly around Ed's bare arms.

 Ed tried to reign in his peals of laughter. "I'm so sorry, Oswald, really, but...that look on your face just now...I think it was the funniest thing I've seen in my entire life."

 He wouldn't have been surprised if Oswald had stormed out then and there. The kingpin had always been quick to anger at even the slightest taunt. Instead, he broke out into a reluctant smile. He closed his eyes, letting the refreshing water run down his face for a few seconds before responding. 

 "You know, I'm sure it was." 

 Ed grinned giddily at him. The way Oswald returned the look made him feel as if they had their own secret joke, something just between the two of them that the rest of the world wasn't privy to. 

 Oswald leaned slightly out of the shower head's spray, and Ed could see the droplets of water collecting on his lashes and dripping down the tip of his nose. He tipped his own head under the water, now fully soaking his hair and his face. It was such a sweet respite after the last few hours, he couldn't help but groan in relief. 

 When he opened his eyes again he noticed Oswald studying him, or more accurately studying the soaked cotton that clung to his skin. He could see Oswald's own pale-pink skin under the damp of his dress shirt, more thoroughly drenched than his own tank top. His expression was hard for Ed to read. Ed had nearly forgotten that they were both standing fully clothed in a running shower. 

 "You shouldn't worry about your shirt," he tried to reassure Oswald. "Even if it's dry-clean only, it should be fine if you let it sit out and dry."

 Oswald nodded distractedly.

 Even though the running water was still pleasant, Ed's undershirt was growing clammy against his chest. He had always been sensitive to unpleasant sensations.

 "Sorry, this is--this is a little uncomfortable," he explained as he pulled it off, wringing it out the best he could and hanging it over the top edge of the glass. As soon as he had, Oswald surged forward, running his hands up Ed's slick chest to his shoulders and pushing himself up until his lips roughly met Ed's. Ed froze in surprise; the ever turning cogs of his mind came to a sudden halt, like a jammed typewriter--only processing him emotion as something akin to a long string of exclamation marks.

 When Oswald pulled away there was panic in his eyes and a crack in his voice. "Ed, I am so sor--"

 Ed clenched his finger's in Oswald's shirt like he had just moments ago, and pulled them together under the spray of water. He squeezed his eyes shut as they kissed wetly, brisk water cascading down their faces. Tiny droplets of it somehow found their way in between their joined lips as they shifted against each other, chasing the new sensation. Ed could feel the heat of Oswald's body under his damp shirt as their chests pressed together. Oswald's hands came to his hips and stayed their even when the broke apart a moment later, both huffing for breath.

 They both interrupted each other when they finally spoke.

 "Ed, I--"

 "Oswald--"

 "I've never done this before." Oswald panted.

 "I've never made out with a man in a shower while half-dressed before, either," was the response that Ed's brain supplied. 

 Oswald laughed, burying his head in Ed's shoulder. Ed wrapped his arms around Oswald's back, hugging him tightly as the water continued to rush over them.

 "I guess there's a first time for everything," Oswald murmured into his neck, before gently pulling him into another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> (Title/summary from an 'Eagles of Death Metal' song that is somehow tangentially related to this concept in my mind)


End file.
